Bill Ellis To Address Society At Annual Meeting On Thursday, December 8

10/21/2011

 
The Society will have the pleasure of listening to a distinguished scholar and historian when Bill Ellis addresses the annual meeting on Thursday, Dec. 8.  A native of Danville, Ellis graduated from Shelbyville High School in 1958, received his B. A. (1962) and M.A. in Education (1966), from Georgetown College, and his Ph.D. from the Uni- versity of Kentucky (1974). He also holds an M.A. degree (1967) from Eastern Kentucky University.

Ellis taught history and coached football at Harrodsburg High School and Shelby County High School from 1962   to 1966, taught history at Lees Junior College from 1967 to 1970, and taught history at EKU from 1970 until his retirement in 1999. He is Foundation Professor History Emeritus at EKU. Six heart bypasses later, he is enjoying   retirement   while   he fishes, golfs and researches. Ellis is the author of over 30 articles  and  six  books,  including, most recently, The Kentucky River (2000). A History of East- ern Kentucky University (2005), and A History of Education in Kentucky (2011), all published by the University Press of Kentucky. He is a longtime columnist for Kentucky Monthly magazine. He enjoys being called Historian Bill, Snow Hill (after his family’s home) Bill, and, by his friends, Bogey Bill.

Ellis will talk about his upcoming book, “Does Your Dog Bite: Ken- tucky  as  a  Crossroads of Humor,” at the annual meeting.

 

membership picnic

09/18/2011

 
 

Dedication of the Simpsonville Skirmish- Jerry Miller

06/15/2011

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Skirmish at Simpsonville Memorial 

The formal dedication of the Skirmish at Simpsonville Memorial will be held on April 10, 2011 at 3 p.m.  That day is also the Sesquicentennial of the firing on Fort Sumter, recognized as the opening of hostilities in the Civil War, which also happened on a Sunday.  The ceremony will be held at the site located at U.S. 60 and Webb Road, 1/2 mile west of Simpsonville. 

The site memorializes the events of January 25, 1865, when elements of the 5th United States Colored Cavalry (USCC) were surprised by a band of Confederate guerillas while driving a herd of 900 cattle to Louisville.  About twenty-two were killed and as many as twenty were wounded, six of whom later died of their wounds. Based at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, nearly all of the 5th USCC’s recruits were former slaves. The 5th USCC troopers “that were killed were buried in a long trench near where they were massacred.”  News- paper accounts of the event referred to the “Skirmish Near Simpsonville” as a massacre, though military historians question the use of that term. 

The nearby Highway Historical Marker is headed “Horrible Massacre” which was used in the headline to the January 26, 1865 article that appeared in the Louisville Courier.  It is believed the USCC troopers fired only one shot in their defense before being overwhelmed. The area in which they were believed buried was later used as an African American cemetery. Members of Simpsonville’s Trim #2 United Brothers of Friendship Lodge, an African American fraternal organization, operated the cemetery until the last member died in 1965. Over 180 graves have been documented in the abandoned cemetery. This will become Kentucky’s third and largest memorial site dedicated to U.S. Colored Troops in Kentucky. The oldest is a marker in a Frankfort’s Green Hill Cemetery that was erected in the 1920s.  The second monument to the USCT is at Camp Nelson in Jessamine County. 

Please visit these links to learn more: 

http://home.comcast.net/~5thuscc/ 
http://home.comcast.net/~5thuscc/simpson.htm 
http://www.armchairgeneral.com/simpsonville-civil-war-massacre.htm 
http://www.kentucky.com/2009/01/21/666048/marker-revives-memory-of-simpsonville.html 
http://5thusccsimpsonville.webs.com/ 


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UPCOMING EVENT- March 17 Past and present mayors gather for a night of fun! By Jack Brammer, Vice President

03/01/2011

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Shelbyville’s recent history will come alive in a Shelby County Historical Society meeting in March with four of the city’s former mayors and the current mayor. The mayors will participate in a discussion led by Jack Brammer, the society’s vice president, at a March 17 meeting of the historical society at the home of Ron and Kay Waldridge at 1520 Cropper Road. It will begin at 7 p.m.

Participating in the panel discussion will be Marshall Long, who was mayor from 1974 to 1982; Neil S. Hackworth, who was mayor from 1982 to 1995; Donald Cubert Sr., who was mayor in 1995; David Eaton, who was mayor from 1995 to 2002; and Tom Hardesty, the current mayor who first took office in 2003. I will ask the mayors to discuss accomplishments and problems in their terms of office and to give their views on the future of downtown Shelbyville.

Questions will be taken from the audience. The meeting is free to society members, students and persons who accompany students. The cost for non-members is $5.00. Everyone is invited to join the Historical Society for $25.00 per year, and may do so at the door March 17. 

Questions about the meeting may be directed to Brammer at 502-633-6478 or jbrammer@heraldleader.com.

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